In short: Listen well and be all the better for it.

It's taken me several days to finally get to the point where I can write a review about this album. Not because it's not good, oh no no no... but because the stuff that Derek Webb writes takes time to chew on. And even after you've chewed on it, you still end up saying, "Wow, what was that taste?" I've gotten a bead on the taste, I think. Just in time to end that analogy, you will say. This album has a focus as clear as She Must and Shall Go Free. Where that album focused explicitly on the church, this album focuses just as hard on the revolution that must surely take place inside a person who truly seeks to follow after Christ.

To say there is depth in Derek Webb's lyrics is kind of like saying the Grand Canyon is a great big hole. It's more than depth that has made him one of mine and Heather's favorite artists. He accomplishes much more than mere original ideas and theological truth. "I See Things Upside Down" is a raw, honest portrayal of where a man is in his faith, how he got there, and where he aches to go. I gotta say, it's a challenge. These songs could be prayers to God from Derek himself to make him something new... Acknowledging his humanity and futility. Bracing against mediocrity and leaning hard on his creator to make his faith a thing that is legitimate.

"We come broken, we come undone, we come trying hard to love everyone. We come up short in all that we do...so we come to you." That song ("We Come to You") typifies the attitude of this entire album. Not that we have anything to offer from ourselves, but that we ask of God to pour out his goodness on us. "I Repent" (a concert favorite on the last tour) does exactly what the title indicates.. lists specifically a lot of pride and selfishness that we can all stand to repent of. "I Want a Broken Heart" is perhaps the most challenging song on the set, taking a step beyond acknowledging that selfishness, getting into the realm where we stop playing games and decide to get totally real with God. "I've got alibis for every crime, substitutes to do my time, cause your heart breaks enough on both our parts." Such is the lyric of honesty and acknowledgment.

What Derek Webb has made personal on this album, becomes cooperative. It's a wound that he allows to be exposed of himself, that I find myself sharing. Is it truth that I seek, or permission to do what I want? Am I ready to really expose myself to God, and let him show me all the places he wants to fix? Am I ready to radically love the way that Christ told us to? Am I ready to come "dirty and hurting, and dead in the tomb?" Am I ready to admit that Christ brought me this far? These are the questions that listening to Derek caused me to ask, and I'm guessing everyone's going to have a few more of their own.

This album isn't for everyone. The musical element is good, but there's not any ground breaking riffs on here that are going to rock your world. I don't think Derek Webb writes so that people will think his musical style is cool. What he does (have I said this yet?) is write lyric that rips you apart. It's mature stuff, this. It's sure to cause some growth (though maybe not without pain) and I guarantee it's going to challenge you. If you're ready for that, you're going to want to go ahead and get this album. Listen with an open heart and a mirror in hand.